Dreams and hopes of Kaumatua represented by Ohaki Maori Village

Tu Tangata, Issue 9, 1 December 1982, Page 30

Dreams and hopes of Kaumatua represented by Ohaki Maori Village

by Sonya Haggie

The “driving and inspirational force” behind a venture designed to preserve, protect and promote Maoritanga is a 90-year-old woman renowhed for her traditional Maori weaving.

Rangimarie Hetet has been the guiding light for her King Country family which has developed the Ohaki Maori Village a 2.8h.a. block with a traditional semi-fortified pa on a hilltop and an arts and crafts centre below.

The project, spearheaded by Rangimarie’s grandson Dan Te Kanawa, was officially opened and dedicated before a crowd of about 200.

Sited 500 m from the Waitomo Caves, near Te Kuiti, the village is the latest tourist attraction for the area. Visitors will pay to see the pa with the appearance and spirit of yesteryear, and crafts will be on sale within the centre.

But according to Dan the commercial side of the venture was not the most important aspect of the project and its development.

The main reason fpr its existence was to give his grandmother and his mother, Digger Te Kanawa, a place to pass on their knowledge of traditional Maori weaving, for which they are both well-known.

“It was really an attempt to try to establish a place where she (Rangimarie) could teach people the art. We are not concerned about selling her art. We really want a training place where we can pass it on. See, Nana’s 90 and Mum’s 62,” he said.

Although Rangimarie will not play a constant part in the teaching, which began at the centre on August 31, her knowledge will reach the students through her daughter Digger.

“Nana has been very much our inspiration, one of the driving forces.”

The village began to come to life when Dan, a 33-year-old Ministry of Works draughtsman, returned to his birth place after several years as a Wellington city dweller.

It was 1974 then and Dan’s approach to the Hetet and Te Kanawa families with his idea for the village was met with a reserved enthusiasm.

But with their support he scoured the area for a suitable block of land and found the perfect piece but it belonged to a pakeha farmer.

Luck was with him though. The landowner was willing to sell and, with his

relative’s financial backing, he purchased the native bush-covered hills.

Now, after 7Vi years of “development” problems, the opening gave him a feeling of “relief”.

“I feel relief now that the whole project will finally be open for business But I know there will still be problems only they will be operational ones instead of developmental ones,” he said.

The venture was financed with family input of money, loans, grants, and voluntary community help.

For Rangimarie, the opening day was one to be “very proud”.

“I feel it is something that we have achieved right from the start although it has been very, very hard work,” the sharp-thinking great-great-grand-mother said.

“I feel very pleased that we have got this far and I hope for the future that it won’t fail.

“There have been many long hours of worry. The other night I couldn’t go to sleep. I was worrying about this big day.

“And when I saw all the cars out there I thought ‘Gee I wonder if we’ve got enough tucker to feed them’.”

Rangimarie, who now lives with a grandson in Te Kuiti, has travelled all over New Zealand giving lessons in the art of traditional weaving, using traditional materials, and has received an MBE for her work.

Recently both Rangimarie and Digger received the first-ever Awards for Women.

The threat of the Maori art of weaving becoming extinct was a real one to Rangimarie who hoped to continue giving lessions “for as long as I’m able to”.

MP Koro Wetere was among many invited guests at the opening which was attended by a crowd of as many white faces as brown.

Local methodist minister Rev Buddy Tewhare put into words what Rangimarie and her family were feeling when he said Ohaki represented “the dreams and hopes of the old people”.

And with projects like the Ohaki Maori Village a project the family hopes will stimulate more interest, and awareness in traditional Maori art, culture, and history the threat of extinction that hangs over Maoritanga is well on the way to becoming extinct itself.